May 2009

May 28, 2009

"The evolution of one’s own soul is a process. It’s not a quick fix.
It’s not a five day workshop. It’s a lifetime process where we let go,
discover and then allow for futures to come into existence."-Debbie Ford

Join us on the Women's Self Care Teleclass!

Monday June 1st, 2009 8:30 PMThis month's topic:The Right QuestionsJoin us as we explore how asking ourselves the Right Questions can mean the difference between an ordinary and an extraordinary life. This month's class is inspired by the book, The Right Questions, by Debbie Ford- highly recommended reading but you definitely do not need to have read it to benefit from the class.

The call is free but you need to email me for the call in number and passcode.

Blend together until smooth. You can use a vitamix for this to get a smoother result but I just put it in the blender and I actually like all those little bits of greens in there. Yum!!

The wheatgrass didn't make it into the photo but it definately makes it into my smoothies. I am also really enjoying the bee pollen and I miss it if I don't have it.

By the way my vegan experiment is going great (ok- those of you who want to be picky can say the bee pollen isn't vegan but it is ok with me). It will be a month this week-end and I honestly can't remember the last time I felt this great (of course daily yoga is a huge part of that I am sure). These green smoothies are really essential for me. Rod still looks at me like I am crazy but (shhhhh don't tell anyone) he has agreed to go to a raw vegan restaurant in Boston with me this week! Check back here and I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

Tonight we will be talking with an Integrative Pediatrician, a Family Chiropractor, and an Acupuncturist and Herbalist about the variety of choices that are available to us when we are making healthcare decisions for our families. If you are in the Plymouth area, please come by!

May 12, 2009

Since I stopped drinking coffee and mostly started brewing tea at home, I haven't been by my favorite coffee shop in a while. But I was driving by this morning and couldn't resist stopping in for a visit. They brew a wonderful loose leaf vanilla rooibus teaand also feature a hip young coffee guy with the coolest name I have ever heard. Jeresiah and I chatted while my tea was steeping and the conversation went from where have I been (off coffee lately) to a really interesting discussion about being reliant upon or addicted to anything in particular.

Jeresiah is apparently opposed to being reliant upon anything at all except a woman (good for you, Jeresiah!) and we discussed how life is just generally better when we make conscious choices in moderation and not just out of habit.

The conversation then led to the coolness of trees and we compared trees- my necklace, his tatoo (sorry no photo of that). Which led to my friend, Kieli Storm, who Jeresiah does not know (see I am going to try to use his name as many times as I can here and hope that I am spelling it right).

My friend Kieli is the Kieli of Silver Storm and Co and is this fantastically talented jewelry designer/artist/mom all around amazing kind of woman. She designed this necklace for me more than 10 years ago and it is a prized possession that still gets compliments EVERYWHERE I wear it. (It would probably get more if I cleaned it more regularly- sorry Kieli).

She is so wonderful that Rod and I also asked her to design our wedding rings. Which, of course, are even more highly prized possessions. Which got me thinking about our wedding.

Which just got me generally happy. Which just made my day. I hope yours is great too.

May 11, 2009

We had such a great Mother's Day celebration at our house yesterday. It was also a birthday party for my Dad who, as some of you know, has been making a lot of food changes for his health. So we had a vegan party and it was fantastic.

I think he was amazed at the wonderful variety of yummy things that he can eat. Of course, the idea is to not do much sugar at all but we made a little exception for the occasion. Happy Birthday, Dad!

The cake recipe is another great one from Vegan Express. The only change I made was to use Soy Nut Butter instead of Peanut Butter because we had a guest with a peanut allergy. It still worked great. Here's the recipe. Enjoy!Note- one cool thing about vegan baking is that you can always lick the bowl with no worries!!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Makes One 9 inch round cake (you can easily double this to make a layer cake)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and oil the cake pan. The cake will come out of the pan much more easily if you also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine well.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the warm water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until moistened , then beat with a whisk until batter is smoooth.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, just until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in the pan. Let the cake stand until just warm if you will leave it in the pan or let cool completely first if taking it out of the pan

5. Make the frosting. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat and stir together until very smooth.

6. Spread the frosting over the top of the cake while it is still warm (or over the middle and the top if a two-layer cake) then let stand 30 minutes or so. Enjoy!

May 08, 2009

Love this super easy recipe from Vegan Express. My friend Kim Sanders of Creating a Life of Wellness recommended this book to me and said she had never been disappointed in any recipe she had made from it. So far so good- even the kids loved this! Note- I went light on the curry and skipped the red curry paste to make it more kid-friendly.

Nearly Instant Thai Coconut Soup (no kidding, you can whip this up in 15 minutes!)

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add garlic, saute about a minute, add the white part of the scallions and the pepper. Saute over medium heat until softened and golden (you can see in the picture that my peppers are charred- I cooked them separately and added them later because Rod doesn't like them).

2. Add the coconut milk, rice milk, corn, curry powder and green parts of the scallions. If using the curry paste, dissolve it in a small amount of water before adding to the soup.

3. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and remove from heat.

4. Serve, passing around the cilantro for topping.

We had this with another fresh, yummy loaf of the bread I blogged about earlier this week.

May 07, 2009

This teapot was a 40th birthday gift to me from my mom and I just love to look at (not to mention brew in it!). This morning it has graciously provided us with pots of blueberry and lemon tea for breakfast and at the moment it is pouring Genmaicha (Japanese green tea with brown rice- I really love this one).

The tea, by the way, is that much more excellent when accompanied by our current soundtrack, Big Old Life. I discovered this album through one of my favorite blogs, Soule Mama. Thank you Soule Mama- you have great taste in music!